England award 39 player contracts as Richard Dawson joins Test coaching staff

England announced an updated list of 39 contracted players on Monday alongside changes to their coaching teams, with uncapped fast bowler Henry Crocombe receiving a two-year deal. BBC Sport reported that 30 players hold full central contracts and nine have development agreements, while Richard Dawson is joining the Test staff from Glamorgan.

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Eleven players received two-year contracts running through 30 September 2028, including Test captain Joe Root and white-ball captain Harry Brook. Crocombe joins Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker and Josh Tongue among the specialist fast bowlers awarded multi-year deals. BBC Sport described the length of Crocombe's agreement as unprecedented for an uncapped England player.

Crocombe, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Dan Lawrence, Tom Banton, Sam Cook and Matt Fisher received full central contracts for the first time. Ollie Robinson returned to the list after two years without a deal. England also retained Shoaib Bashir, while fellow spinners Mason Crane and Liam Patterson-White received development contracts.

Dawson will work under Test head coach Stephen Fleming in a staff that also includes James Foster, Eric Simons and Marcus Trescothick. His departure leaves Glamorgan seeking their fourth head coach in five years, according to a separate BBC Sport report. The county appointed Dawson in December 2024, and he subsequently agreed a three-year extension in 2025.

During his first season, Dawson led Glamorgan to promotion from Division Two of the County Championship. A sixth-place finish followed this year, ensuring the Welsh county would remain in Division One for successive seasons for the first time. Director of cricket Mark Wallace said the club had recognised that Dawson's coaching ability could eventually bring an opportunity elsewhere that he would want to accept.

Dawson said leaving had been a difficult decision but that the England role was an opportunity he could not pass up. He previously joined England's senior coaching set-up in 2021 as elite performance pathway coach and led the Lions on their 2020 tour of Australia. Before those appointments, he spent six years as Gloucestershire head coach, winning the One-Day Cup in his first season.